Combo Concert
Roy Orbison
Orbison Records, 1998
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/16/1998
Up until recently, there was only one live album by the late Roy
Orbison available on the market - the
Black & White Night tribute concert. Now, almost ten
years after his death, Orbison's widow Barbara has combed the
vaults and come up with
Combo Concert, a 1965 performance from Holland.
The concert, held on March 25, 1965, is short in comparison to
the concept of a "concert" today - Orbison only performs nine songs
in just under a half-hour. This is probably the most disappointing
feature of this album - it just begins to whet your desire to hear
more, when it cuts off. The five songs from Orbison's Paris show
two days earlier help a little bit, but not much, as four of the
songs are repeats.
For those who grew up listening to Orbison on the radio,
Combo Concert will be both a blast from the past and a
breath of fresh air. Almost all of the big hits that can still be
heard on oldies radio are here. "Only The Lonely" is a good kickoff
to the show, allowing the backing band to quickly establish a
groove. The dual guitar work of Billy Sanford and John Rainey
Adkins is particularly noteworthy, as is the drum work of Paul
Garrison.
At times, Orbison sounds like he's rushing himself; "Running
Scared" is plowed through in what feels like record time. I don't
remember the song being that fast on the studio counterpart (though
I'm willing to admit I'm wrong on this one). For that matter, both
versions of "Dream Baby" also sound a bit sped up - I don't know
why this bothers me like it does.
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